


Time I Met a Sailor

by passion_dies



Series: Egotistic Jew [1]
Category: A New Brain - Finn/Lapine, Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-14 10:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14134689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/passion_dies/pseuds/passion_dies
Summary: Marvin, a discontent composer in New York City, runs into an amiable sailor in Brooklyn.





	1. Minutes

Even here, at a popular pier on the shores of Brooklyn, Marvin found no inspiration. The shrill laughter of touring families was harsh and distracting. The cool breeze that would occasionally pass by felt like a slap in the face, stunning Marvin out of any ideas he might’ve had and forcing him to restart his thinking process. Somehow, being here was even worse than home. It sucked him in deeper into his creative dry spell, leaving him longing for the silence that had felt suffocating in his studio.  
  
The shimmering blue waves only kept Marvin’s attention for a few seconds. His eyes searched for something more, and eventually, they drifted to the nearby dock. It was packed to the brim with all sorts of boats, stuffed together in barely organized chaos. Boats came and boats went, and so did their passengers, all looking overjoyed as they walked to and from their vessels. Some even came to the pier where Marvin sat, carrying bags full of cold, bland food to eat as they watched the maritime activity from the shore.

One person in particular caught Marvin’s eye. Unlike the groups of people walking up and down the dock, he was alone, and yet he didn’t seemed bothered by it in the slightest. The man’s tall, toned body stood out in the crowd, only further punctuated by his bright eyes and perfectly coiffed hair. He moved with all the confidence of a king through the crowds, walking quickly enough to pass them but slowly enough that he didn’t seem in a rush to get to his destination.

Marvin couldn’t tear his eyes away from him.

He couldn’t complain about being with Trina. He had the family he’d always dreamed about: a kind, caring wife who was ready to tend to his every need and a remarkably intelligent son that excelled in everything except social situations. Growing up, he was convinced that he’d be satisfied when he joined the ranks of happily married fathers, and yet he was left craving something more. It felt like there was a part of him that wasn’t satisfied, wasn’t _right._ Something was missing and no amount of affection from Trina could fill the gaping hole it left in his soul.

The mystery man noticed Marvin’s staring before he could pretend to be busy with his notebook. Their eyes locked, and a second later, he flashed a bright grin at him that made Marvin’s heart melt. Marvin only offered a tight-lipped smile in return and then stared down at the blank paper in front of him, but by then, it was too late. The next time he snuck a glance his way, the man was walking straight towards him. Marvin forced himself not to look up after that, keeping his gaze down even when he got close enough that he could hear his footsteps getting louder and louder until they stopped only feet away from him.

The wooden picnic table creaked as the man leaned against it, still wearing his impossibly charming smile. Marvin acted surprised as he set down his notebook and instead gave his attention to the stranger.   
  
“Are you an artist?”   
  
His surprise turned genuine. There were a few art students that he’d passed on his way to the pier. They were all young and stylish, focused completely on their work. In comparison, Marvin was old and disheveled after a long day of slaving away in his home office. His mind was unable to direct itself at anything, wandering aimlessly amongst the lives of all of these too-happy people and trying to borrow enough of their cheeriness to find a few words to scribble down on a piece of paper. Even if his creations could be considered art, he couldn’t consider himself an artist if he wasn’t able to make anything in the first place.

“What makes you think I’m an artist?”

“They’re the only people who still use paper,” the man explained, gesturing to the notepad in Marvin’s hand. “Are you drawing the ocean?”

Marvin huffed out a quick laugh in reply and shook his head, flipping the flimsy cover shut.   
  
“No, I’m not drawing anything. I’m a composer.”   
  
“A composer?” The man stared at him and Marvin could feel him scrutinizing every little detail about him, from his messy hair to his wrinkled shirt. After a few seconds, he shrugged, putting on the same charming grin from when they’d first spotted each other. “I’ve never met a composer before. Are you famous?”   
  
This time, Marvin’s laugh was more hearty. There was something enthralling about the stranger. He was attractive and funny and he was paying attention to _Marvin_ , for God’s sake. “Not yet,” he admitted, unable to conceal his own grin. “The beach was too crowded, so I came to the pier to watch the ocean and get some inspiration to write something. I’m Marvin, by the way.”

“Martin?”  
  
Just as Marvin opened his mouth to correct him, the stranger let loose a laugh of his own and playfully batted his shoulder.   
  
“Just kidding, Marvin. I’m Whizzer.”   
  
“You can sit down, Whizzer,” he offered. “You were out at the docks just now, right?”   
  
Whizzer lowered himself into the spot next to Marvin, sitting close enough to him that their knees brushed against each other as he made himself as comfortable as he could on the wooden bench.   
  
“Yeah, I just got back. I spent a couple weeks in Cape Cod.”

He pointed to a small sailboat crammed in between two much larger ones, barely visible from their position on the pier. It was tiny and a little beaten up from what had to be years of use, but it had a certain antiquated charm to it.   
  
“See that one? The one with the stripe? That’s my boat.” Marvin glanced over at Whizzer and caught him watching it with a fond smile. It was sweet and genuine and so hard to not stare at. “Isn’t she beautiful?”   


“Yeah,” he agreed, looking out at the boat again. The longer he stared, the more appealing it became. He could picture himself sailing away from all of his current troubles with his handsome new acquaintance and living a life free of worries on the sea. With the entire ocean to explore and the wind to propel them, he’d be able to avoid New York City forever. It would be the perfect escape from his boring, dreary life.

  
His daydream was cut short when his phone buzzed. He didn’t even need to check it to know that it was his wife calling to make sure he’d made it okay and that he’d be home before it got dark out. Immediately, he stuck his hand into his pocket and silenced it. He also slipped off his wedding ring as discreetly as possible, leaving it in there with his phone. Whizzer had already noticed the noise by then, though, and he shot Marvin a knowing look.   
  
“You’ve got someone waiting for you, don’t you? I’ll let you go.”   
  
“No, no,” Marvin insisted far too quickly. He’d only just met Whizzer, he wasn’t ready to forget all about him yet. Part of him was still holding onto his hopes of sailing away, and he wasn’t sure if he could forgive himself for not taking a chance to fill that missing part of him when he had one. “It’s just work. I don’t have to go anywhere.”

Whizzer grinned again, which made Marvin practically melt.   
  
“Good. I’m not supposed to get dinner with my friend for a few hours. If you want, I could take you out on my boat for a little while.” His grin grew impossibly wider. “You know, for ‘inspiration’.”  
  
Without any hesitation, Marvin nodded and stood up, grabbing his notebook. It was impossible not to trust Whizzer even if they'd only known each other for three minutes, not when he was offering him something he'd only dreamed about.  
   
“I’d like that.”   
  
He reached into his pocket once again. Briefly, his fingers brushed over his wedding ring and sent a pang of guilt through him, but a second later he turned off his phone and called for Whizzer to slow down as he chased after this new, exciting man to pursue an equally new and equally exciting path.


	2. Days

Three days.   
  
It had been three long, insufferable days since Marvin had made the fatal mistake of following Whizzer to his shabby sailboat. His memory of that afternoon was crystal-clear up until the point where they entered the boat’s cabin, where it faded into a blur of sun-kissed skin and unrestrained passion. They never even left the dock, too caught up in their own affairs to worry about the outside world. Marvin hadn’t known how much he’d needed that.

He didn’t stick around for very long afterwards. They said almost nothing as they got dressed. Their only real exchange was Whizzer handing Marvin his phone with a new contact already open, which Marvin dutifully filled out. It had to be common etiquette to exchange numbers after fucking in a boat, and if anyone knew that, it would be Whizzer.    
  
At the time, Marvin hadn’t really thought much of it. It had been an act committed in the heat of the moment, something he never planned on doing and something he never thought he’d do again. Maybe Whizzer would text him and he’d have to explain that he was committed to someone else, or maybe Whizzer just wouldn’t contact him at all and he only gave him the opportunity to exchange numbers because he didn’t want to hurt Marvin’s feelings. No matter what, he told himself that this was part of the past and it was going to stay that way.   
  
The only problem was that it  _ didn’t  _ feel like part of the past. When he got home, Trina’s welcoming smile seemed lackluster in comparison to Whizzer’s heart-stopping grin. He replayed their conversation at the pier over and over in his head as he forced down another bland dinner and listened to Trina’s mindless droning about her day. He ignored Jason’s request to play a game of chess so he could instead hide away in his studio, tapping away at his keyboard and trying to find any string of notes salvageable enough to morph into a song.

This time, the problem wasn’t that his mind was wandering from idea to idea. It wasn’t that he couldn’t set his focus on any one thing in particular. There was something very clear that he couldn’t get out of his head no matter how hard he tried.   
  
After an hour, it was past the point of ridiculous and barreling straight into pathetic. All he could do was wonder whether Whizzer often took strangers on his boat for “inspiration” or if he lived in Brooklyn or if Whizzer was  _ actually named Whizzer _ . He wanted to know how often he went sailing and what he did as a career and if he’d be available to meet up again on Thursday. Mostly, though, he just wanted to know if Whizzer actually, truly, wholeheartedly liked him.   


It was especially embarrassing because that part shouldn’t matter at all. Whatever had happened between them was a one-time thing, which was how Marvin had wanted it to stay. He’d had his one-afternoon-stand with a hot guy. Now that he’d had a little bit of adventure, he could run back to his comfortable and consistent life.

It only did the opposite. After he’d had a taste of what was waiting out in the world for him, Marvin couldn’t get enough of it. All of these years, he’d been missing out on everything that his own sex had to offer, and although he tried to convince himself otherwise, he knew that there was no going back after this. His hopes that his marriage would turn out okay were shattered, and in their place stood Whizzer, playing coy and taunting him with his silence.   
  
He fell asleep over his keyboard with his phone clutched in his hand, holding onto it like a lifeline. The next day, he hardly left the room, pouring his time into his work. He cranked out a tune that was harsh and angry, barely distinguishable from haphazard key smashing. His phone was his constant silent companion, sitting stoically next to him without ever making a sound. He attempted the same thing the day after that, but it was even harder to focus when the deep longing in his heart grew. Marvin had even tried to search Whizzer up online to see if he had any social media accounts up just so he could get another look at his flawless face. He found nothing.  
  
Now, after three days, he sat in bed, leaving a sizeable gap between himself and Trina’s sleeping body. He hadn’t spoken more than a few sentences to her since his trip to Brooklyn. Trina had been understanding, as always. She gave him space and stayed out of his way, waiting for him to seek out her presence. She’d never wronged him, never gone behind his back or started a serious argument. For all intents and purposes, she was the ideal wife, the ideal  _ woman. _ Marvin had been fine with that before, but now, all he wanted was a handsome man in bed with him.    
  
It wasn’t fair.   
  
Why had this happened now? Why couldn’t he have figured this out before he’d met Trina? Before he’d had Jason? Why did he have to start questioning everything about his life just when he thought he might finally have a chance to be happy?

His phone clattered against the wooden table by his bed. Marvin immediately looked to Trina, who didn’t budge. A few seconds of tense silence passed before Marvin grabbed his phone and unlocked it, squinting at the bright screen. When his eyes adjusted, a relieved grin spread across his face.

_ New message: _

 

_ hey its whizzer from the pier. u busy? ;) _

**Author's Note:**

> will i write more?? probably
> 
> don't count on it though


End file.
